Anna Dressed in White
by reveriecauchemar
Summary: Seven years after Cas lets Anna go, he begins seeing her again. This Anna is dressed in pure white and is a young girl working at a chocolate shop. No blood on her hands. Can Cas realize that this reincarnation is not "his" Anna, not Anna dressed in blood, but her own self, even if she is strikingly similar to the Anna he knew and loved?
1. Chapter 1

I still remember that fateful kiss. To this day it lingers on her lips. She doesn't even remember it, she can't. She's happy now. She passed on. I wish she could though. Sometimes that kiss is all I can think about, even though it has been seven years. Seven years since I let her go.

Thomas and Caramel keep telling me to get over it—to find someone else, but that will never work, not when I know that I can never love anyone as whole-heartedly as I loved, no still love, Anna. Even if she was dead when I met her, I know that she was the one.

After graduating from high school, I got out of Thunder Bay as fast as I could. There was no way I could stay there with all the memories I had of Anna, I could not be near her Victorian anymore, it killed me on the inside knowing that on the other side, Anna and I were happily ever after, no more ghosts, and definitely no more obeahman. Just us. If only life could've turned out that way…Caramel and Thomas got married not too long after high school and attended college together, and now they have a beautiful young daughter, Anja. After spending a few years traveling I've decided to settle down in Victoria.

It is haunted here, but not like Thunder Bay. The ghosts are silent and peaceful—laying asleep waiting for something to shake up their routines. A strange mist, a creak in the floor, a bump in the night, almost nothing here is powerful enough to cause a disturbance. Sometimes they do, not often. There are a few powerful ones just a ferry ride away. A building full of ghosts that are off their rockers, staying there would even leave the most stable person out of his mind.

As I leave my building, I see a flash of white, a swish of long, dark hair, which barely curls at the ends, and pale skin. Anna. It can't be. She's gone. This is a real girl, a living one. I try to shake the thought from my head as I watch the girl disappear around the corner.

On my way to the mainland I try not to think about how much different life would have been if Anna weren't a goddess of death, waiting to kill any person who chanced upon her house, if she had been a normal girl waiting for something to change in her life.

When I get off the ferry I focus. I have a job to do. 142 East 22nd Street. Home of Thomas Kosberg, a schizophrenic psychopath who, in December of 1965, laced milkshakes with sleeping pills, gave them to his family, and then hacked them all up with a double-bladed axe. His brother, Vincent, who was just an infant at the time was found still alive in his crib after surviving a strangulation attempt—talk about a Christmas miracle.

When I first arrive, all I can see is his family—fully intact, crying and pointing down the hall. I turn around and see him. He's young and tall with that glimmer of Bateman in his eyes. Wildly swinging his axe Kosberg runs towards me, oblivious to my athame. I plunge it into his stomach, not feeling at all sorry for hurting him. At first he looks confused and looks towards his family, wondering what this is all about, then as he fades away his eyes clear up, it all clicks and I see a remorse pass through his face.

Three hours later am back in Victoria, in a local sweet shop. Rumor has it that the owners still are making chocolate in the kitchen, in spite of having been put to rest. They seem like pleasant people: they stay out of everyone's business. And they make damn good chocolate.

Then I see her, the girl. The one from earlier. She's dressed all in white, save for a garnet pendant dangling from her long snowy neck. God, she has to be Anna, no other girl could be that enchanting…she looks just like she did when I left her with the other me.

"May I help you?"

"What? I'm sorry."

"No it's quite alright. I just figured you needed help. You've been looking at me with a helpless expression for quite some time though."

"Oh. I'm sorry. You look a lot like a girl I once knew."

"Haven't you heard? They always say that three people can exist with the same face, living parallel lives." Her small body trembles as she says this. "Would you like anything to eat sir?"

"Just a chocolate bar."

"I'll get that for you…ummm…I didn't catch your name?"

"It's Cas"

"Cas? That's a nice name!" She smiles and lights up the entire room with magic, the kind of magic that you rarely see in a girl. My heart feels like a flickering candle, a small amount of hope is the only oxygen keeping it lit.

**_CRASH!_**

Glass shatters in the kitchen. "KORLOV! That's the third jar you've broken this week. These chocolates can't be sold now. I should have never hired you. Stupid klutz."

I can hear her sobbing trying to apologize and clean up the mess. "Dammit Anna, you have a customer. Go serve him. Fucking idiot girl. Clean up your face while you are at it." I desperately wanted to punch that asshole, making a young girl cry. So what if she is clumsy? Is there really anything so wrong with that? Wait. Korlov. Anna. Her name is Anna Korlov. She comes out of the kitchen with a bag full of broken chocolates and my chocolate bar. Her cheeks are stained with salt, her eyelashes fluttering.

"Here's your chocolate bar, sir. I'm terribly sorry for the wait…"

"No problem at all—are you alright?"

She ignores my question. "That will be three dollars."

I rifle through my wallet and give her some extra money. "I think I will take that bag of chocolates as well for you."

"Thank you very much sir."

"No problem at all. Are you off work soon?"

"In about ten minutes, yes."

I contemplate the options, allow her to wait around and possibly get yelled at by her boss again, or ask her to leave early with me, where I think she will be safe.

"Would you like to leave early, Miss Korlov?"

"Yes please…"

I guide her out of the shop, taking her in the direction of my building. Hoping that she may tell me a few things about herself.


	2. Chapter 2

After running a block to get away from the chocolate shop, Anna collapses. She lays on the ground each moment feeling like an eternity, like I've lost her again. Until I notice her frail body is quivering and I hear more eminent sobs. Shit. I really suck at being the guy who comforts the girl. The Anna I knew was sweet, but she was tough. The strongest thing I've ever met. Her soul really couldn't be broken, even if it already was. She wasn't human, she was death, she was life, she was the ice running through your veins, she was fear itself, but more than that she was also love.

The girl on the ground isn't that. She is a girl. Just a girl, broken and alone. Maybe more…

"Cas? That is what you said your name is, right?" The words are barely audible between her sobs, just the wind whispering.

"Yes, that is my name. Do you need some help up?"

She nods. Her cheeks are flushed, a rosy red rarely seen on a girl so pale. I lift her up. God. She is so thin. How does a girl this little support herself? I try to set her on her feet, but she start to wobble. I continue to support her as I walk down the street. Eventually we reach my building.

"This is where I live, would you like to come in and sit down? I can make you a hot drink if you'd like…?"

"Please?" Her eyes are a dark violet, almost an iridescent black—like oil drops in water. They were so strangely entrancing. I place my hand on the small of her back, guiding her into the building, slowly up the stairwell, and eventually to my third floor apartment.

My apartment is pretty decent, as apartments go. It is small, but it has a sense of hominess that makes it welcoming enough for me to be able to stay there every night. It smells of the herbs and ointments my mom sends me to ward off evil spirits. And it is never lonely here: I have Tiberius. Tiberius is a large, fluffy calico cat. You know, the ones with the orange, white, and black patches? Apparently a male one is rare, Tiberius seems to know it too. He just struts around like he owns every goddamn place he walks into. That's why I named him Tiberius, it's like he rules the world, or at least the most powerful empire in it.

As soon as I open the door Tiberius is rubbing up against my leg. Great. I forgot to buy cat food while I was out. Lucky you! Tiberius, you get tuna for dinner tonight. He doesn't pay any mind to Anna at first, until she sits down in his favorite chair. Of course Tiberius then gets all pissy and yowls at her. Damn cat. I wish he knew how to behave around girls.

But then Anna does the strangest thing and says "Oh my goodness she is so beautiful!"

"Actually Tiberius is a guy…" And it is probably hurting his manhood that a girl (of any species) could think that he is a she.

"A male calico? I didn't know they existed. Weird." And she settles into the chair scooping him up and cooing over him.

While Anna plays with the cat, I fix some hot cocoa for her. I wonder what her life is like, is it better than my Anna's was? Is her mother the kind of woman who would nurture her? Or is she just another Malvina? And what about her father, was he even alive? Did she have siblings? And what about the rest of her life? How old is she? Does she have a boyfriend? All sorts of questions race through my mind. I need to know everything about her—it feels like my life depends on it.

When the cocoa is done I hand it to her and she smiles gratefully—and then she asks me, "Why are you being so kind to me? I mean, its great and all…but I'm just a klutz who served you at a chocolate shop and looks like someone you used to know…"

"You don't just look like her…you have the same name. Anna Korlov."

"Odd. Not many people have the last name Korlov…But that still doesn't answer my question."

"Anna was a girl I knew back in high school, in fact I loved her." Why am I telling this to her? She doesn't really need to know "I got into some stupid shit and she saved my life. She passed on after that…seeing you reminds me so much of her and I could not stand to see her upset, I guess it's the same way with you, too."

Anna falls silent and looks down into her lap. Damnit. I sound like a creep who can't get over his dead high school sweetheart. Shit. And that is the truth, but I really didn't want her to know that. I quickly decide to change the topic. "So now that you know all that about me, why are you working with such a nasty boss?"

"I have to work—my mother died when I was young, for a while it was just me and Papa, but eventually he got remarried. My stepmother, Maria, is a wonderful lady…it's just her and Papa have had three children since they got married—and a fourth is on the way. There are so many mouths to feed that I had to get a job."

I nod, understanding why she would feel like she needed to work, but why would she continue to work with a boss that makes her cry?

"I couldn't get a job anywhere else, I was desperate for work, as soon as I saw that he was hiring I applied. I'm not sure why, but he immediately gave me the job. It has been a really nice work experience, at first he didn't even mind how clumsy I am, he never scolded me about anything, in fact he would even give me chocolates to bring home to my siblings. My youngest sister, Valentina, absolutely adored the chocolates he brought home." She pauses, looking as though something was blocking her words—silencing her. "Then, a few weeks ago, something inside of him changed: he started getting cross with me for the littlest things—not having the pastries in the exact order he envisioned, plating something wrong. Almost everything I did was wrong. But it still wasn't all that bad until today."

"Do you think he'll get any worse?"

"I'm not sure. He always could, but I have to go in there. I need to help Papa and Maria, They can't feed Valentina and the others on their own…they don't get paid nearly enough to feed all of us."

"Then go in to work. However, if it gets any worse, you'll need to quit. Bosses can't treat employees like that. And after you quit—tell me."

"Why would I need to tell you?" Her voice quakes as she speaks.

"Because no girl in any situation should ever be talked to like that."

At that Anna quiets herself and decides to talk to the cat. Lucky thing. Girls absolutely adore him. I watch and almost begin to notice a smug expression on his face. Suddenly (and very loudly) the guitar riff to "Dani California" starts playing. CRAP! My phone. It's probably Carmel or Mom. Maybe Thomas, if I was so lucky.

I pick up. "Hello?"

"How'd it go? Did you kill him?" Of course, Carmel's the one who called.

"Yeah, I finished the job…Kosberg was dealt with."

"Cas? Why aren't you telling me anything? Was he too disturbing for even you to handle?" God. I hate it when she tries to tease me, it should be funny, I guess. To me it just sounds like the way that gross-way-too-sweet-Halloween candy tastes.

"No. Just not now, Carmel. I have a guest over right now."

"A guest? You never have guests. Is it a girl?" I remain silent. "Oooh. It is! What does she look like? What is her name, tell me everything! Thomas! Cas has a girl over!" On the other end of the line I hear a ton of fumbling and some strange shouting. "Cas? Who is she?" Carmel repeats.

I sigh. "Well you kind of know her…"

"Is it Jestine?"

"No."

"Who? Oh. Cas. You didn't."


End file.
